Would you recommend Mamapedia to a friend?

Updated on
March 07, 2008,
M.M.
asks from
Dallas, TX
on
March 06, 2008

To Vaccine or Not to Vaccine...

Can you please give me your experience and advice on vaccinations. I have a dear friend with an autismchild. He started showing signs of it a little bit after his MMR vaccine. I've heard so many different things about vaccinations. My 2 year old has had all of his and my 17 month old is due for his 18 month vaccines but I'm not sure I want him to have them all at the same time or at all. What are the known health risks and what are you all doing?
Thanks!

More Answers

C.R.
answers from
Dallas
on
March 06, 2008

Hi M.,
I have a standard response to this question since I have seen it several times here on Mamasource. I wish you well with you decision. :)

I have chosen not to vaccinate our children because I believe that most of the diseases are no longer a threat in the area of the world in which I live. And yes I do feel that some of the cause for that is that children were vaccinated but also because we became aware of how disease's are spread and now use that knowledge to protect us through proper hygiene practices in both in our personal life's as well as in medical care institutions that care for us.
And the ones (diseases) that are seen here are treatable if taken care of in a timely fashion.
While researching this I lost my faith in a system that has turned a blind eye to the possibly that there are problems with their vaccines but at the same time keep their selves in a position of safety from any liability.
Also I question them with the history of use of heavy metals and other toxins used in their injections for the sake of shelf life and profit. Why would they even put this stuff in there in the first place if they cared about my children?
And then there’s that nagging question about autism.
The number of vaccines that are suggested to give to a child are more than 44 individual vaccines by the age of 6 or 55 if considered “high risk”. This is at an age when some serious development is going on. The nervous system is not yet fully developed and we are bombarding the body with toxins to fight off. Both the very young and very old have compromised immune systems already, why would we then take that time in their life to vaccinate them? I know that why they suggest the vaccines to begin with but think about it. I don’t have any data to support my theory but I believe that is why most think that it is “normal” for a child to have up to 8 colds a year. My eldest son is three and has only had 3 colds that I can remember and only one ear infection. Both of my boys are very healthy and I feel that one of the reasons is that their immune system is available to fight the infection instead of being compromised with batting inoculations! Again this is my personal thought to reason.
I asked my doctor at one of my first well baby check ups why they are vaccinating against Hep B starting at birth if the disease is a blood disease that is passed by transmit ion of blood. His answer was that we are going to have an epidemic in 20 years from now. That’s some crazy thinking to me! I don’t want to expose my child to toxins that might be a problem 20 years from now! I think it’s just gotten a bit out of control!
I think that too many of us go blindly into the whole vaccine schedule thinking that we have protected our children from disease. This is not true. Written in each of the vaccine inserts states that: As with any vaccine, vaccination with ______may not protect 100% susceptible individuals. There are many known cases of people contracting the very disease that they where vaccinated against.
The only vaccine that I have considered is the TT (tetanus). But I am having my doubts about it as well. It is found that once a person has had tetanus they are able to contract it again. So you cannot obtain a natural immunity from it which blows the whole inoculation thing out of the water.
So I am again looking at my options.
I would suggest that if you do decide to vaccinate, that you find a doctor that could give just one vaccine injection at a time instead of the combos that seem to be so popular with drug companies. The Combos seem to be the highest ones in question.
I thought in the beginning that I would just delay the giving the vaccines but now I don’t think we are going to vaccine our boys after looking into it more. I don’t believe that our bodies are capable of healing themselves of every illness without the help of drugs, surgery etc…. I just feel that the health care industry has conflicting interests in the care of my family and it is my duty to question their care of me and my family.
I could go into facts and statistics but it’s very hard to find anything with any consistency on either side! Unfortunately with it being a subject of great debate it is very hard to weed through it all! So bottom line I have chosen through research and much prayer that this is the best decision for our children.
Best Regards,
C.

i think it is very wise you want to be informed. dr. bob sears has a great book out called the vaccine book- it really is thorough and the most non-biased book i've read out there by someone in the medical profession. highly recommended. dr. daniel ramirez at kids docs pediatrics in plano is vaccine-friendly. i've learned this after being kicked out of a few doctor's offices for not accepting their vaccination schedules. if you do multiple shots in one day and there is a reaction, how will you know which one caused it? dr. ramirez is working with us to spread them out in a safe and educated way. good luck and feel free to email me offline for more info.
-J.

The misunderstanding that these diseases are erradicated is spreading amongst those who do not wish to have their kids vaccinated. While I agree that if you do not wish to have your children vaccinated, you should have that choice. But the fact that we have so many people move here from other countries who aren't vaccinated and are going to school with our children. This is the reason that these diseases are actually coming back to this country.

My personal experience was not have my children vaccinated for the chicken pox. My 17 year old didn't get vaccinated because it wasn't around at the time he was little plus he had been exposed twice and my doctor wasn't sure if he should have it. My now 11 year old did have the vaccination. Well when my youngest who is now 3 was 3 months old, my oldest came down with chicken pox. It was then spread to the other 2. All 3 had a mild case even the one who had the vaccination.

I guess what I am saying is that not all vaccinations are necessary or even a good idea.

I agree that if you can have them spread out, do so. Talk to your doctor and their policies. Remember, some schools particularly private might not let your child enter without a vaccination record. Best of luck to you.

I choose to have my child vaccinated so the diseases that have been "eradicated" in the past won't be likely to reappear in our part of the world...However, because we live in a global society, the diseases we are vaccinating our children against are finding their way back to the US because people in other parts of the world are *not* vaccinated, and they can very possibly bring those diseases back to us.

OK....with that all said (and I hope it was much clearer than mud!), you can request that your child(ren) be vaccinated with preservative-free vaccines. The research I've seen seems to support that it's the preservatives in the vaccines that are the triggers for autism.

As for whether or not to give him all his shots at once, or spread them out, I would suggest talking to your pediatrician. My boys get their shots all at once so they are *done*, and I don't have to make a 2nd appt a month later. The best thing you can do is to make sure you have some of your child's Tylenol or Motrin to give them about 30 minutes before they actually receive their shots. (We live about 20 minutes from our pedi, so we give our son his just before we leave.)

HTH!!
~J.~
PS....I LOVE your boys' names!! (OH...and I have a friend who is needing their house's air ducts cleaned....do you and your husband do that? If so, please email me at ____@____.com. THANKS!!)

I was too much of a chicken to not vaccinate my older two. We were military and moved around from school to school and I didn't need the hassle of different state law on exemption. My youngest has had most of her shots, although I waited until she was six months for one of the shots and a year for the rest. She is not up-to-date and I don't intend to give her any more because I totally believe they are damaging. There is not much support for people who choose not to vaccinate. It is put out there that you HAVE to, but even the military cannot force soldiers to get shots. It is your choice whether or not to have anything put into your body. Child neglect comes into play for people who just "don't bother" to get the "required" immunizations, but in Texas we have the right to philosophical exemption. This is a sticky area, though, because the school will beat you up over your decision not to vaccinate and you better be ready for it. There are forms you can get from the State Dept. for exemption...I'll look for those. And did you know that the makers of Gardasil are marketing to pre-teen boys in the event, they claim, that they have oral sex with an infected girl. How preposterous!